Ep 3. What happened to international law?

International law is supposed to set the rules for how states behave in war and resolve conflicts, but that framework is under growing pressure. In this week’s episode, Zoe Swanwick speaks to James Cowan, CEO of the HALO Trust and former British Army Officer, and Kirsty Sutherland, a barrister specialised in international criminal law and military law, to examine whether international law is losing its force, how consistently the UK applies the principles it claims to champion, and what obligations Britain has towards those caught up in conflict. As the international order becomes increasingly contested, they ask whether these rules can still constrain states, and what it would take to uphold international law in a multipolar world.